WWE House Show results 8/5

Won tickets to the WWE Raw show at Salt Lake City. FIrst hint that it wouldn't be an actual Raw show on TV? No TV announcers table.

MATCH #1 - Santino vs. Jack Swagger

Santino's a good way to open a show. High energy, hilariously cartoony. The crowd started cheering "Cobra! Cobra!" and so Santino tried to do his finishing move on Swagger before the match even started. Swagger drew a lot of heat from the crowd too. Swagger dominated most of the match, but it has a couple screwed up moves where both guys would just stop in mid-move as if confused by what the other one was about to do. Ultimately Santino pulled out his cobra sleeve and hit Swagger and got the three-count.

Winner: Santino

MATCH #2 - John Morrison vs. R-Truth

When Santino was leaving his match, enjoying the victory he got hit from behind by R-Truth. Two refs came to help the injured Santino leave. R-Truth got on the mike and started yelling about the conspiracy and how he wanted to fight Morrison. The crowd started yelling "What?" after everything he said which made him mad, and he was pretty funny with it. Morrison came out and they had a back-n-forth match. They each hit some good acrobatic moves, but Morrison got him with his finisher where he bounces off the top rope and twists for a slam.

Winner: John Morrison

MATCH #3 - Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre

The crowd was about 2/3 for Zack and 1/3 against him when he came out. He wears a belt and calls himself the "Internet Champion" and he asked a few people int he crowd if they wanted to be his "bro-ski" for the match. The couple kids didn't seem to know what that meant, and then he asked a guy who said he'd rather be friends with Dolph Ziggler. McIntyre came out, and he had 1/3 pro, 2/3 anti from the crowd. The energy dropped a bit for this one, and some people just didn't seem to know who they were supposed to root for. Ryder wrapped it up with a pinfall.

Winner: Zack Ryder

MATCH #4 - Diva Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

At this point Amy Torres (is that her name?) came to say they were going to have a contest and the winner was going to be able to go backstage and meet their favorite Superstars. But Phoenix came out and interrupted to fight Kelly Kelly NOW! Kelly came out and they went at it. Phoenix is obviously the stronger one, but we're not going to have a title change hands at a house show, are we? Kelly got this last-second reversal for a quick pin, and then she and Amy left quickly.

MATCH #5 - Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio

Del Rio really knew how to work the crowd as the heel. At one point some idiot actually threw something at him and got himself kicked out (he didn't hit him). The crowd popped big for Rey, and I liked how Rey would stop at each kid he passed who was wearing one of his masks.

Rey's a great high-flyer, and Del Rio's a good seller. They had some really good moves, but Rey was able to get the 619, which the crowd chanted for several times, and then his finisher off the top rope for a clean pin.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Halftime. I wondered why the good guys were winning every match. Is this how it always is at house shows?

MATCH #6 - Alex Riley vs. US Champion Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler came out first and took the mike, ranting about he ambodied perfection. Got plenty of boos (and no Vickie Guerrero). He has this Mr. Perfect-Owen Hart-Jeff Jarrett style to him that could make him a star down the road. Riley came out to big cheers, and they had a very entertaining match. Ziggler acted like he was scared of Riley, sliding out of the ring, avoiding a count-out by rolling in at nine and right back out. As soon as they tangled, Ziggler dove back out, grabbed the mike and yelled "Didn't you see him pull my hair? He's a cheater!"

Once they got into it, Riley was able to hit some power moves. Ziggler got in some strutting moments, very Jarrett-esque. Riley didn't sell the finisher well, but Ziggler got the pin.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

MATCH #7 - Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Tag-Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty

The tag champs aren't that special, but the crowd popped big for their opponents. Actually met Kofi Kingston at a meet-n-greet earlier in the day, seems like a genuinely nice guy. Bourne's not that big, but he's able to jump high and knee guys in the face. The tag match had those predictable moments where the bad guys work on one in the corner for a while, and he finally barely breaks free and the other one comes in and cleans house.

Naturally the tag champs got the pin, but they got greedy and kept beating up Bourne after it was over. Kingston, who'd been knocked out on the outside of the ring, recovered and came back in, and he and Bourne did their finishers. Bourne has one of the coolest where he jumps forward from the top rope but does a back flip before landing on his opponent. So, moral victory, but...

Winner: Otunga & McGillicutty

Remember that contest Amy Torres promised? She picked four volunteers, and we'll call them Hot Chick, Fat Guy, Cute Kid, and Redhead. Once they were in the ring, Torres let them and us know that the contest was a dance contest. Hot Chick went first, and she did okay, she got some encouraging cheers. Next went Fat Guy (and I do mean at least 300 pounds), and he got bigger cheers, going for it. Next went Cute Kid and he busted out some old-school moves including the snake and the worm. Giant cheers. Last was Redhead, and I felt bad for her. Who wants to follow Cute Kid? She started, and was obviously not very good, and so the crowd turned on her, booing vociferously. Once it was over, Torres let the crowd vote. The cheers went the same. Some cheers for Hot Chick, more cheers for Fat Guy, decisive cheers for Cute Kid, and loud boos for Redhead.

MATCH #8 - WWE Champion John Cena vs. WWE Champion CM Punk

The Miz had been on the poster, so I thought the final match would be Cena vs. Miz, but when they announced "Champion vs. Champion" I was genuinely excited to see it. Punk got half boos-half cheers when he came out first, and I liked his attitude. He's only turned face a month ago, so it's taking a while to catch on. Cena's entrance music got the loudest pop of the night, though there was a section that booed him.

I should also say the loudest squeal of the night from the women was when Cena took off his shirt. Next Punk took his shirt off in a "my body's nowhere near cut as his" manner, but the girl he threw his shirt to was thrilled.

It was a back-n-forth match. Tons of submission moves, headlocks, ankle locks. one would break out and we might get a flying clothesline or a drop-kick, but then it would be right back to a headlock. At one point there was a "Let's go, Cena! CM Punk!" shout contest. Cena was able to get in his "U Don't See Me" followed with the five-knuckle shuffle, and he got in his submission finisher, but Punk was able to get to the ropes. Then Punk had his comeback, and I wondered how they'd actually end this.

Oh, yeah, I'm at a pro-wrestlign show. R-Truth and Dolph Ziggler ran out and attacked both men from behind, clearing the ring. They picked up the championship belts and mocked them with them, but in getting too proud of themselves for what they did, they didn't notice Cena and Punk get back in the ring. Cena and Punk worked them together and did their finishing moves on them at the same time. Truth and Ziggler retreated, licking their wounds.

Winner: None. Double disqualification.

Once it was over, Cena and Punk had a belt off. Punk would hold up his belt and his theme music would kick on (Living Colour's "Cult of Personality") and the crowd would cheer. Then Cena would signal to cut the music, and he'd thrust his belt into the air, and his theme music would kick on, and the crowd would cheer. They did this back and forth for a bit. Punk left first as Cena wound up with the bigger cheers, and Cena took longer than most reeting fans as he left, high-fiving, signing stuff.

Entertaining show, first time I've been to a live one. Maybe not as cool as attending a pay-per-view, but I think I liked it more than a Raw show. GLad I won tickets.

The Lincoln Lawyer - DVD Review

lll 1/2

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Philippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Bryan Cranston, Frances Fisher, Bob Gunton, Trace Adkins and Michael Pare. Directed by Brad Furman.

This airport-thriller has been turned into a crafty little courtroom drama. It has the twists and turns one's come to expect from mass-market law-thriller authors like Michael Connolly or John Grisham, and when it's done well, it is what it is, and it's highly entertaining.

Matthew McConaughey is all Southern-fried oily charm as a defense attorney who'll defend anyone if the price is right. He lost his license, so he's ushered around town in his Lincoln, hence the title. When a rich son is accused of the attempted murder of a hooker, he's on the case to defend him. When he starts to develops doubts as to his client's innocence, it gets ethically dicey for him.

The cast is a deep bench of talent. It's not To Kill A Mockingbird, but everyone has fun doing their part. Ryan Philippe's petulant menace as the suspect, William H. Macy as a hangdog investigator, even Bryan Cranston as one of those stubborn idiot detectives who just doesn't like defense attorneys. This movie contains many small pleasures that add up to a satisfying conclusion.

Somewhere - DVD Review

ll

Starring Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Michelle Monaghan and Ellie Kemper. Directed by Sofia Coppola.

Sofia's an accomplished director and she's carving out her own niche in the "Nothing Happens" art film genre.

This movie is similar to Lost in Translation in that it's about a jaded actor and it takes place mostly in hotel rooms and lobbies. It very much has a home-movie feel, and if you followed someone around with the camera, there would be large stretches where they don't talk, they just stare straight ahead. She's not quite dipping into Gus Van Sant territory yet. She's just flipped the drama. Most movies have a lot happen and we get these quiet moments. This movie is all quiet moments.

Dorff gives his most effective performance to date, as a bit of a blank-slate of an actor. We gather he's been in the business a while and he's very successful, but he's finding his life off-camera is empty. It gets filled a bit when his daughter shows up and then her mother can't take her back for a few days. So she travels with him, stays at his hotels, goes to his award shows.

His daughter is Elle Fanning, before known as Dakota's little sister and now known as the girl from Super 8. Her presense brings the hope that something might happen. The father-daughter relationship is casual and real. There's definite authenticity here to portrayals.

At one point, Dorff falls asleep watching twin models pole-dance for him. I feel like if I'd nodded off at any point in the movie and woke up ten minutes later, wouldn't have missed a thing. Here's one hint. If a song with lyrics starts on the soundtrack, whatever the characters are doing, they're going to do it the whole time so the song can play out, whether it's eating lunch or sunbathing. Really, ultimately, why should people outside of the Coppola family and some of their jet-setting friends care about this non-story?

Random Entertainment News 8/4/11

- Marvel is not slowing down. They are proceeding with a Doctor Strange movie. Also, Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim) has finished his work on the Ant-Man script. Marvel has The Avengers, Ghost Rider 2, and The Amazing Spider-Man opening in 2012, and Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 slated for 2013.

- Meanwhile, on the DC Comics side, Laurence Fishburne has signed on to play editor Perry White in The Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois), Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Julia Ormond, Michael Shannon and Christopher Meloni.

- Ben Foster has joined the John Gotti biopic, starring John Travolta, Al Pacino, Lindsay Lohan and Kelly Preston. Joe Pesci was attached but probably won't be now that he's suing the production.

- Michael Gracey has taken over directing duties from Francis Lawrence on The Order of the Seven (formerly titled Snow and the Seven), a twist on Snow White about a 19th century Englishwoman in China who must flee and finds protection from seven Shaolin monks. Not to be confused with Snow White, starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins, or Snow White & the Huntsman, starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.

- Mark Ruffalo, who'll play Bruce Banner in the upcoming Avengers movie, is close to joining the cast of Now You See Me, with Jesse Eisenberg and Melanie Laurent, about a group of illusionists who pull off a series of bank heists. Amanda Seyfried (Red Riding Hood) is also in talks to join.

Season of the Witch - DVD Review

l 1/2

Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy, Stephen Campbell Moore, Stephen Graham, Ulrich Thomsen and Christopher Lee. Directed by Dominic Sena.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, but it does make some gloriously terrible choices to where I can't in good conscience give it that second full star. First would be casting Nicolas Cage as an English crusader. Well, once you've made that choice, it doesn't matter what you do with everyone else, does it?

Cage and his band of merry men, who somehow make it the whole movie without belting out a single tune from Spamalot, are charged with bringing an accused witch (Claire Foy) to trial. They face perils on their journey. Rickety bridges, hungry wolves, that sort of thing.

Ron Perlman has some fun as Cage's right-hand man. I also liked Boardwalk Empire's Stephen Graham as a thief turned navigator for the party. I just wish it had either embraced its hokeyness or aimed to be an actual enthralling adventure.

There's plenty of swordplay, but not too much blood actually squirts out of their victims so they can keep that PG-13.

Do you think you know what really caused the plague of the 1300's? This movie dares you to think again. Think again, I say.

Still, not as bad as The Rite.

Sanctum - DVD Review

l 1/2

Starring Richard Roxbergh, Iaon Gruffudd and Rhys Wakefield.
Directed by Alister Gherson.

This movie was sold on being a 3D adventure. Caves, waterfalls, falling, diving, claustrophia, etc. The movie looks and feels like it was all shot on a series of soundstages with rubber walls. Never felt excited or nervous or in suspense. I spent a lot of cringing that these so-called experts kept doing dumb things.

The center of it is a father-son relationship on the rocks. Son's bitter and angry and petulant. Dad's a hard-headed shouter. They argue in cliches. Along for the ride is Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as a wealthy businessman. Gee, I wonder who's going to be the coward who gets people killed halfway through? I should mention there are four or five other characters, but they're there to wait their turn to be stupid and perish.

Most deaths in this movie follow this pattern.

Deadmeat: I'm going to do this!
Expert: Don't do it, it's too dangerous, it won't work!
Deadmeat: Now I'm panicking, I'm still going to do it!
Expert: No, don't!
Deadmeat: I did it! Aaaaah! (falls to death or drowns)
Expert: There was nothing we could do.

And scene.

Weekend Box Office

1. Cowboys & Aliens - $36.43 million - 1 wk (U)
. . . 3750 screens / $9715 per screen
2. The Smurfs - $35.61 - 1 wk (Sony)
. . . 3395 / $10,489
3. Captain America - $25.55 ($117.42) - 2 wks (Par) -60.7%
. . . 3715 / $6879
4. Harry Potter 8 - $21.98 ($318.51) - 3 wks (WB) -53.7%
. . . 4145 / $5302
5. Crazy Stupid Love - $19.1 - 1 wk (WB)
. . . 3020 / $6326
6. Friends with Benefits - $9.28 ($38.18) - 2 wks (SG) -50.2%
. . . 2926 / $3170
7. Horrible Bosses - $7.19 ($96.29) - 4 wks (NL) -39.5%
. . . 2510 / $2864
8. Transformers 3 - $6.09 ($338.01) - 5 wks (Par) -49.5%
. . . 2604 / $2337
9. Zookeeper - $4.3 ($68.83) - 4 wks (Sony) -50.6%
. . . 2418 / $1779
10. Cars 2 - $2.35 ($182.12) - 6 wks (BV) -58.5%
. . . 1763 / $1332
11. Winnie the Pooh - $1.78 ($22.44) - 3 wks (BV) -65.6%
. . . 1632 / $1089
12. Midnight in Paris - $1.16 ($46.85) - 11 wks (SPC) -35.9%
. . . 471 / $2456

Cowboys & Aliens may have won the #1 spot, but considering it cost $50 million more than Smurfs to make and had higher tracking numbers right up until Friday morning... well, it's a disappointment for Universal. That opening is great if you're Super 8, but for a movie with that pedigree, C&A needed to do better. Personally the marketing campaign never seemed to get out of teaser mode.

As for Smurfs, well, it was review-proof. I'm stunned it did this well; I thought overall it would bomb. Don't underestimate the power of nostalgia. Or Neil Patrick Harris.

Crazy Stupid Love is that PG-13 adult rom-com-dram that should've opened stronger, but might have done so in the spring or fall, with less competition.

After two weeks, Captain America has already passed Green Lantern. That 60% drop in week 2 is a little worrisome, but after such a strong week 1, it still looks possible to catch Thor's $180 million domestic.

Harry will catch up to the Transformers. Might take two more weekends, but he'll get there.

This has been a low year for animation in general. They're all selling tickets, it's just that none of them have broken out. Rio's the only one to exceed expectations gross-wise. Neither Kung Fu Panda 2 nor Cars 2 will make it to $200 million, which was an unthinkable prospect in spring.

Further down, Bad Teacher's still stuck at $96 million. Probably won't pass the magical $100 million mark.

The Sarah Palin doc The Undefeated lost 10 of its 14 theaters in week 3 and fell 79.4%.

The Eagle - DVD Review

ll1/4

Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Denis O'Hare and Dakin Matthews. Directed by Kevin Macdonald.

A not-terrible sword-and-sandals flick that suffers from a meandering middle. Channing Tatum (GI Joe) is the studly Roman warrior who saves a Briton slave (Jamie Bell) from getting killed. When he's commissioned to go to Britain to see what happened to the ninth legion, which disappeared, he takes his Briton slave with him. (Last year's Centurion, starring Matthew Fassbender, was based on the same true story).

Not too long after they've crossed the wall, they get captured and the tables are turned. The slave is now master. Will he kill his former master or help him on his quest anyway? What do you think?

Red Riding Hood - DVD Review

l 1/2

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Max Irons, Virginia Madsen, Lukas Haas and Julie Christie. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

I didn't mind Twilight, really. I kinda like them. But when I watched this movie, I thought of all the people who hate Twilight and thought "I get it."

The best thing about this movie is the opening credits. The camera sweeps over snowy mountains and through rich forests before we settle on the village that'll be the center of this story. I think it's in Europe, but most of the accents are American. Then Gary Oldman shows up with a German twinge and I got really confused.

The movie features a young woman desired by two different young men, but instead of one being a werewolf, we only know that one of them might be a werewolf. This werewolf is killing villagers, and they don't know who it could be.

The movie gets points for employing Gary Oldman and a Battlestar Galactica alum. It loses points for the ridiculously heavy-handed manner in which it hands 'Red Herring' signs on possible suspects. One character stops just short of saying "Hey I might be the werewolf! Suspect me!"

This is a horror movie is squarely aimed at junior-high girls, and I see no reason for anyone outside of that demographic to see it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II - Movie Review

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Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Warwick Davis, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, Ciaran Hinds, David Thewlis, Matthew Lewis, Julie Walters, Mark Williams and David Bradley.
Directed by David Yates.

Well, it's finally over. The final showdown comes between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle. It is very much a cathartic, full-circle experience. We've seen the kids grow up, we've seen the teachers teach, we've seen Voldemort's army grow. We've had good guys and bad die along the way.

It's a good send-off, if not great. The main young three - Radcliffe as determined Harry, Grint as sidekick Ron, Watson as precocious Hermione - have grown into real actors with decent futures all, should they want them. One would hope acting off of Maggie Smith and Gary Oldman would reap benefits.

When last we left our heroes (and I wish I'd watched Part I right before I'd seen this; my bet is they're more effective seen as one 4 1/2 hour whole), Dobby the House Elf was dead and they still had a few Horcruxes to destroy in order to beat Voldemort. If you haven't read the books, rest assured a giant showdown is coming, and plenty of characters who've been along for the ride will be dead by the end.

The acting trophy has to go to Alan Rickman as Snape. His true intentions finally get revealed, and it's a great scene by him when it happens.

I have read the books, and I'll just say my biggest complaint might be that it felt too rushed. Would have liked it to be twenty minutes longer to do justice to those scenes or those characters.

Sucker Punch - DVD Review

l 1/2

Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Scott Glenn and Jon Hamm.
Directed by Zack Snyder.

Imagine a movie based on a non-existent video game based on a non-existent graphic novel based on a series of music videos featuring young women in sexy clothes striking sexy poses while pretending to fight samurai and dragons, and all under the pretense of female empowerment. Actually, you don't need to imagine it, but such a movie exists and is called Sucker Punch.

I actually like Zack Snyder as a director; this "story" just indulges his worst instincts: the slo-mo speed-ups during fights, the montage of images to skim over weakness in narrative, the pulsing never-subtle soundtrack, the excuse for all the teen girls to dress like porn stars.

On the reality level, we have a Shutter Island-esque insane asylum, albeit with all beautiful young women. The protagonist, Baby Doll (Emily Browning), has been committed here by her stepfather, who murdered her sister and blamed it on her so he could get their inheritance. Baby Doll copes by escaping into fantasy, and she envisions she's really in some sort of Chicago-Moulin Rouge performance hall. Then when a mysterious man (Scott Glenn, because why not?) gives her a quest - a very Zelda-like quest - and promises freedom, she upps the fantasy again. When she goes to "dance" for clients, in her head, she's at a new battle, whether it's at a WWI front, or against those previously mentioned dragons, and in each battle, she's to find one more item that the mysterious man had rattled off for her.

The whole exercise is empty, a style-over-substance assault on the senses. It never felt like anything was genuinely at stake, and I found myself wondering if it would end with Baby Doll waking up at the beginning of the movie to say "Oh, it was ALL a dream." Spoiler alert - that's not how it ends - but I don't know if the impact would've been any worse. I just wonder why, now that Snyder had clawed his way up the Hollywood ranks by making movies out of other people's properties (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, Owls of Ga'Hoole) that THIS is the original story he's been wanting to tell. Really?

Weekend Box Office

1. Captain America - $65.83 million - 1 wk (Par)
. . . 3715 screens / $17,719 per screen
2. Harry Potter 7 Pt. 2 - $48.07 ($274.18) - 2 wks (WB) -71.6%
. . . 4375 / $10,986
3. Friends with Benefits - $18.5 - 1 wk (SG)
. . . 2926 / $6323
4. Transformers 3 - $12 ($325.79) - 4 wks (Par) -43.7%
. . . 3375 / $3556
5. Horrible Bosses - $11.72 ($82.4) - 3 wks (NL) -34.1%
. . . 3104 / $3776
6. Zookeeper - $8.7 ($59.2) - 3 wks (Sony) -29.4%
. . . 3215 / $2706
7. Cars 2 - $5.73 ($176.45) - 5 wks (BV) -31.9%
. . . 2668 / $2146
8. Winnie the Pooh - $5.14 ($17.57) - 2 wks (BV) -34.6%
. . . 2405 / $2138
9. Bad Teacher - $2.6 ($94.36) - 5 wks (Sony) -49.5%
. . . 2034 / $1278
10. Midnight in Paris - $1.9 ($44.88) - 10 wks (SPC) +1.2%
. . . 621 / $3058

Further down the list, Thor passed $180 million, Bridesmaids passed $163, Kung Fu Panda 2 passed $160, Super 8 passed $124, and X-Men: First Class passed $144.

Marvel and Paramount have to be thrilled with Captain America opening as well as it did, buried in the middle of July amongst all these other special-effects blockbusters. Green Lantern's fizzling out at $113 million, for instance.

Harry's 71% drop in Week 2 would be noteworthy if their Week 1 hadn't been so huge. It's easily going to be the highest grosser of the summer, and therefore the year. I don't see another movie crossing the $300 million mark, so Harry will make up for WB's losses with Green Lantern, and with Transformers, Captain America, Thor and Super 8, Paramount has a lot to crow about.

Considering that Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis have never opened a movie, I don't know who could have hoped Friends with Benefits to open to more.

Midnight in Paris keeps chugging along. I haven't seen an inflation adjuster anywhere, but it is technically Woody Allen's highest-grossing movie.

Captain America - Movie Review

lll 1/2

Starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke and Natalie Dormer. Directed by Joe Johnston.

I don't want to overhype this, because it doesn't transcend the superhero genre, but it does beautifully exactly what it's supposed to do. Marvel movies have really stepped up their game.

When I was a kid, I considered the Captain in the big three with Spiderman and Hulk as far as Marvel characters went. Sure, there was X-Men and Iron Man and Daredevil and Fantastic Four and Thor, but really, Spidey, Hulk and the Cap were the Superman and Batman of Marvel.

Glad to see the Captain finally get his due and have it done right. It keeps to the character's WWII roots, and if X-Men: First Class was a throwback to 1960's James Bond movies, then Captain America at times feels like an Indiana Jones sequel.

Chris Evans hits all the right notes as Steve Rogers, a little guy who really wants to fight for his country. His size and health problems prevent him from enlisting, but he catches the eye of a scientist looking for the perfect candidate for an experiment. Not sure how they did the effects of Evans being so small, but I didn't see the seams.

Rogers gets injected with special serum that makes him bigger, stronger, faster, the perfect fighting machine. Now he's ready to take on the Hitler and the Nazis, til he and the US army discover they're up against an even bigger threat - Johan Schmidt and the Hydra.

Johnston directed The Rocketeer, and the same old-school magic comes through here. Supporting cast makes the most of their roles, from the dry wit of Tommy Lee Jones to the beats Stanley Tucci takes with his lines. Hugo Weaving could play Schmidt in his sleep, but he doesn't. He makes Red Skull/Schmidt a worthy, scary opponent.

Stay til the end of the credits.

Battle: Los Angeles - DVD Review

ll 1/2

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena, Bridget Moynahan, Ramon Rodriguez, Ne-Yo, Lucas Till and Jim Parrack.
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman.

My teens liked it, so it pretty much does its job of trying to be a PG-13 Black Hawk Down about an alien invasion.

So I tried to determine why I didn't like it more. Part of it, I believe, is that Black Hawk Down was based on a true story. It had a very you-are-there feel to it, to being in the middle of a historic moment. This is one day in the life of a military group dealing with creatures from outer space.

BHD was also a series of characters building to one great whole. This one centers on Aaron Eckhart, and while I like the guy, I was never compelled by his central story, and for some reason, he gives all his lines with that gravelling intense whisper, even during his big inspire-the-troops speech. And anytime he commanded a soldier to go off by himself and secure this perimeter or that tower, we knew that soldier was toast.

I appreciate that the aliens weren't another variation on the multi-tentacled exoskeleton xenomorph. I liked that they wore armor too. It's just that they looked like unsellable droids that Jawas left in the back room. We'd better win; we've been invaded by nerds.

Random Entertainment News 7/19/11

- Tom Cruise will play Jack Reacher in One Shot, based on Lee Child's best-selling book series. In the books, Jack is 6'5" and 250 lbs. Christopher McQuarrie will direct. Afterwards, Cruise will star in the sci-fi actioner Oblivion for director Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy).

- Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) is in talks to play the King to Julia Roberts's Queen in Tarsem Singh's Snow White, starring Lily Collins.

- Kevin Costner will play Leonardo DiCaprio's villainous right-hand man in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, a spaghetti western about a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) seeking revenge and to free his family.

- Dennis Quaid is the latest to join the cast of What to Expect When You're Expecting, an ensemble rom-com about pregnancy. It stars Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker (Just Go with It) and Matthew Morrison (Glee).

- Producer Don Murphy (Transformers 3) is planning a live-action Captain Planet movie.

- Robert Redford will play a Vietnam-Era radical still on the run in The Company You Keep, co-starring Shia LaBeouf as a reporter who finds him.

- Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects), Alexandra Daddario (Percy Jackson), Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino) and Richard Riehle (Office Space) are among those cast in the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D movie. Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface, will make a cameo appearance.

- Stephen Dillane (The Hours) and Carice van Houten (Valkyrie) have been cast as Stannis Baratheon and his witch-priestess Melisandre in the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones. Stannis is the younger brother of the late King Robert and rightful heir to the throne (if you ignore Daenerys's claim).

Weekend Box Office

1. Harry Potter 8 - $168.55 million - 1 wk (WB)
. . . 4375 screens / $38,526 per screen
2. Transformers 3 - $21.25 ($302.8) - 3 wks (Par) -54.9%
. . . 3917 / $5425
3. Horrible Bosses - $17.63 ($60) - 2 wks (NL) -37.7%
. . . 3134 / $5625
4. Zookeeper - $12.3 ($42.35) - 2 wks (Sony) -38.7%
. . . 3482 / $3532
5. Cars 2 - $8.34 ($165.33) - 4 wks (BV) -45.1%
. . . 3249 / $2568
6. Winnie the Pooh - $8 - 1 wk (BV)
. . . 2405 / $3326
7. Bad Teacher - $5.2 ($88.51) - 4 wks (Sony) -41.7%
. . . 2659 / $1956
8. Larry Crowne - $2.57 ($31.63) - 3 wks (U) -56.7%
. . . 2287 / $1125
9. Super 8 - $1.93 ($122.24) - 6 wks (Par) -60.2%
. . . 1459 / $1319
10. Midnight in Paris - $1.89 ($41.79) - 9 wks (SPC) -28.2%
. . . 706 / $2678
11. Bridesmaids - $1.68 ($161.29) - 10 wks (U) -36%
. . . 872 / $1930
12. Mr. Popper's Penguins - $1.35 ($61.46) - 5 wks (Fox) -57.2%
. . . 1002 / $1347

In limited release, the documetaries Tabloid and The Undefeated did okay. I thought Zookeeper was one of those movies that looked bad to me but was going to be big anyway, like Yogi Bear. But no, it's not doing well.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II had the biggest 3-day opening ever.

Just Go With It - DVD Review

l 1/2

Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, Dave Matthews, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Dan Patrick and Kevin Nealon.
Directed by Dennis Dugan.

I used to be a Sandler fan. And I still hold out hope each time that his next movie will be genuinely funny. Although I would usually wait until The Waterboy or The Wedding Singer to hit the $1 theater, I still had a good time seeing them. But he's been more miss than hit lately, and truly lately, it's been getting bad. And if I see Dennis Dugan's directing, I just have no faith.

But even if the quality's going down, his movies keep making over $100 million. When he stretches himself with other writers/directors (Funny People, Reign Over Me, Spanglish, Punch-Drunk Love) it never makes as much. So as a cold-hard capitalist, Sandler knows what's he's doing, even if it means the movies' quality will be questionable.

So this time around, Sandler plays Danny, a single plastic surgeon who gets a lot of one-night stands out of pretending to be an unhappily married man. Then one day he meets Palmer, a model - I mean, schoolteacher - who really does it for him. She can tell when he's lying. The problem with that is after that first night, she's incredibly gullible and can't tell when he's lying. So it kills the initial hook of her character.

When Palmer finds his prop wedding ring, he reverts to his usual lie about a horrible wife he's about to divorce. Well, his girlfriend wants to meet her. So Danny asks his friend/co-worker Kate (Jennifer Aniston) to pretend to be this wife. The lie, naturally, snowballs when Palmer learns Kate, and therefore Danny, has kids. Now Kate's kids are brought in to pretend Danny's their father.

So the lies grow and become more and more unbelievable, but Palmer swallows them all. Somehow they all go to Hawaii (even though the magic of green-screen shows they weren't really in Hawaii), and at the 55 minute mark, Kate meets her old high-school nemesis (Nicole Kidman). And the lies continue.

It never really elevates. The easiest joke is always used. For example, at least twice, Danny gets hit in the crotch. It has the other usual Sandler trappings (product placement, former SNL buddies, an Allen Covert appearance), and it's all to lazy minimal effect. At least when Sandler's been in rom-com mode, especially with Drew Barrymore, the romantic part's been sweet. Here, I believed Danny and Kate were buddies, but the part where they fell in love seemingly got skipped. I guess it was when Danny first saw Kate in a bikini. What a message.

When Harry Potter was over...

The alarm went off in the theater during the end credits for our showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. I did this on my iPhone after we went outside. My understanding is a man went up into the projectionist area with a lighter and a duct-taped device, and he was trying to blow up the theater.